Woman recovering from pit bull attack in Riverside County

Approximate location, shown in red, where a woman was attacked by two pit… (Google Maps )

A Riverside County woman is recovering from a pit bull attack that sent her to the hospital with wounds on her face and arm.

The attack occurred Monday just before 11 a.m. when the woman, whose name has not been released, was walking her small dog in downtown Riverside.

Two pit bulls escaped from behind a fence and attacked her in the 4000 block of 6th Street, according to a news release from the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

The dogs, 2 years old and 4 months old, were impounded by authorities and euthanized with the owner's permission. They were being tested for rabies, as per protocol, said Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh.

Pit bulls are often criticized for aggressive behavior, perhaps unfairly, he said. Small dogs such as Chihuahuas and terriers bite more often but reports often are not filed, Welsh said.

"The problem is the pit bull, unlike Chihuahuas, send people to the hospital," Welsh said.

For at least the last four years, roughly one out of every five dogs impounded in Riverside County is a pit bull or a pit bull mix, Welsh said.

During "what seems like a really bad year for pit bulls," Welsh said, the department is considering an ordinance that would require pit bull owners to have their dogs altered.

“A pit bull that is altered is less aggressive, less assertive," he said. "The tendency to want to roam is lower."

The owner of the dogs involved in Monday's attack received citations for having two animals straying at large and for having an unlicensed adult dog, according to the release. The dogs, both male, had not been altered.